Courtney Rowlands: Driving Procurement Maturity With TCO

Courtney Rowlands, Head of Category Procurement at AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN), is a strategic procurement leader with a track record of managing up to £20m (US$27m) in annual spend. Renowned for delivering rapid transformation, she recently achieved a 25% cost reduction in high-spend categories within just six months. At AllPoints Fibre, she leverages this expertise to align ethical, sustainable sourcing with rigorous commercial performance.

At the Net Zero Summit, Courtney sat down with Procurement Magazine to discuss the seismic shift in the company’s procurement strategy, the "ugly beast" of software spend and why a 360-degree commercial mindset is fundamental to business success.

How would you define your current approach to Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)?

Generally speaking, if you are operating within a mature procurement function, TCO is always present. It isn’t just about the initial price tag; it’s about the entire life cycle of the product, including maintenance, support and eventual disposal.

At AllPoints Fibre, we are reaching a point of maturity where TCO can no longer be ignored. Previously, our approach was quite tactical and ad hoc—people were buying what they needed to scale and transform as quickly as possible. Now, we’ve reached a scale where we have to look at the "compounding" costs. It is no longer just the cost of the service; it is the additional add-ons that accumulate every few months.

You mentioned software spend as a specific challenge. How has that evolved?

Software was becoming a big, ugly beast because the life cycle was driven purely by demand. We brought in a Category Manager for software specifically to look at this. We discovered that nobody had factored in the contract value at the start versus the value four years later.

We saw our software spend jump from £4 million or £5 million to £11 million. By looking at licensing structures and decommissioning unused services, we’ve managed to bring those costs down. It has been a major educational piece for stakeholders. When you show them that spend has more than doubled in four years, they are often shocked. They simply had no idea.

How do you integrate TCO into your sourcing strategy?

It is now the bare minimum for my team. Every conversation regarding new products or services involves reflecting the reality back to the stakeholder. We might say, "Yes, your budget is signed off, but you actually need an extra 10% to afford the full life cycle of this service".

That’s where we add value. We go back to the market and speak realistically to suppliers about what a three-year partnership looks like and what added value we are getting for that extra investment.

AllPoints Fibre has become quite stringent regarding contract lengths. What was the catalyst for that?

Historically, businesses make the mistake of signing contracts that are far longer than they should be. We work with some huge monopolies, and because no one was keeping an eye on the value, we found money pits where additional fees were racking up into the millions.

As a rule of thumb now, we won't sign anything longer than a 12-month term with a new supplier unless it is exceptionally strategic. We also insist on the right to terminate for convenience. While that sounds wild from a commercial perspective, we’ve been stung in the past by committing too much without flexibility. We need everything to be economically viable and fair for both parties.

This sounds like a significant culture shift. How has that been received internally?

Honestly, the internal reaction was, "Thank God." Many people didn't realise they were overspending until the end of the financial year.

We’ve structured procurement into three clear areas to support this:

1. Enablement: Handling onboarding, background and credit checks.
2. Sourcing: Negotiating and implementing the contracts.
3. In-life Commercial Contract Management: Managing the supplier relationship closely throughout the term.

Most stakeholders didn’t understand the contract infrastructure before, so this transparency has been a positive experience for them.

What about the external reaction from your suppliers?

That was the real challenge. Suppliers were used to us just saying, "Yep, sure, let’s get it done". We had strong backing from our finance team—specifically our former Group CFO, Graham McGregor. He was fundamental in sponsoring the idea that we wouldn't contract for more than a year at a time for new vendors. Even with existing partners, we’ve moved from four-year renewals to two-year terms. If they perform and stay under budget, we’ll do it again. But we are no longer giving away that level of commitment without considering the financial implications.

Looking ahead, how will this model shape the future of your procurement function?

TCO evidences a well-rounded commercial understanding. It’s not just about money; it’s about sustainability and the reputational consequences of our decisions.

My team has moved from a 180-degree view to a 360-degree commercial mindset. This doesn’t just benefit procurement; it benefits every stakeholder we work with. When everyone in the business starts thinking in that 360-way, it becomes fundamental to our overall success.